Recent acts of terrorism in the United States have generated renewed interest in and increased demands for devices or systems that are capable of disabling a target individual with sub-lethal force with emphasis on minimizing danger to innocent by-standers or damage to structures, particularly air craft. Prior to the terrorists' act of September, 2001, civilian law enforcement professionals recognized a need for a non-lethal device capable of disabling a target individual in a crowd while minimizing danger to by-standers in the event the device failed to hit the intended target. The United States military has similarly recognized the need for a wireless, stun projectile for riot control. Electrical devices have been used for such purposes with limited effectiveness.
An early use of electrical energy in weapons focused on the control of animals. U.S. Pat. No. 2,805,067 to Ryan issued Sep. 3, 1951 described increased effectiveness of an apparatus used in surprise attacks by combining a non-explosive missile with an electrical system capable of delivering a disabling to fatal shock to the target. The '067 patent claims anticipated applications only to animals, not to human targets. The shocking device was integrated with a hand-held device, such as a lance-like weapon.
Others have recognized the potential value of non-lethal types of devices. U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,614 to Folgelgren issued Nov. 25, 1975 describes and claims a compressed-gas operated hand gun capable of firing lethal and non-lethal projectiles. The '614 patent includes as an example one embodiment comprising a projectile that, on contact with a target, discharges one of several stunning substances, such as tear gas, flash powder, or wadding. The '614 patent fails to address the effect of the projectile glancing off of a target or otherwise failing to discharge the stunning material in an effective concentration in proximity to the target, or the impact on innocent by-standers.
The basic concept suggested in the '067 patent of electrical energy as an element of a stunning or disabling force to be delivered by a weapon re-emerged with significant effectiveness in what is known as Taser technology. The Taser is a hand-held, self-defense device that supplies a stunning electrical charge and the projectile that remains connected to the device. The electrical charge is delivered to the target by electrodes positioned in the projectile. The effective range of the Taser is limited to 4.5–6.7 m (about 12–15 ft). In addition the device or weapon is limited to a single shot because the projectile must remain wired to the power-source weapon. The basic power supply for the remote system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,132 issued Feb. 24, 1981 to Cover, and details of the power providing device and projectile firing weapon are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,463 issued Apr. 7, 1974 to Cover.
Certain short comings and limitations of the Taser device are addressed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,815 issued Dec. 16, 1997 to Range and by U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,806 issued Oct. 5, 1999 to Coakley, et al. Both the '815 and '806 patents describe wireless projectiles capable of delivering a non-lethal, stunning shock of a single frequency at a relatively high voltage. The projectile of both the '815 and the '806 patents comprises a complex electrical system, including a power source to supply the relatively high voltage requirements. The shock is delivered through electrodes that do not penetrate the skin of the target individual. The 815 patent features an adhesive capsule that serves to secure the projectile to the clothing or skin of the target individual. The 806 patent depends on mechanical appendages of the projectile to secure the projectile to the clothing of the target individual.
The physiological fact that an electrical shock delivered in two bands, one causing pain and the other inducing paralysis of the nervous system is not recognized by the '816 patent, the '806 patent, or by the Taser technology. The fact that penetrating the skin allows effective use of significantly lower voltage to induce the stunning effects is not recognized.
A variety of non-lethal projectiles has been described. Many are well known to the military, to law enforcement agencies, and even to the public. They include devices such as rubber and relative soft synthetic bullets to be fired from standard fire arms, and bean bags (or soft, flexible containers of solid loosely packed pellets) adapted to be discharged generally from smooth bore weapons.
The '806 patent recognizes the importance of projectile stability in flight for accuracy in use and describes the projectile body as a cylinder made of plastic or resin impregnated cardboard. Similarly, the '815 patent describes the projectile housing or body as a single, molded piece of high-impact plastic. Neither the '806 patent nor the '815 patent address basic issues of projectile ballistics in any detail, including discharge velocities, projectile energy, and the potential stunning effects of the impact of the projectile on the target individual. Prior art related to sub-lethal devices ignores characteristics of projectiles that related to safety of use in certain confined areas, such as the cabin of an aircraft.
Accordingly, there remains room for improvement in an electrical circuit for a sub-lethal projectile to deliver an electrical shock in more that one frequency and deliver the shock by means of electrodes that penetrate the skin, thereby requiring greatly reduced electrical potential in the circuit. There also remains room for improvement in the design of sub-lethal, wireless projectiles capable of delivering a disabling shock in terms of the maximum impact on a target and in terms of safety of use in confined areas.